Brittany May from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School, Newport News, was presented with the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award for Excellence in Catholic Education on April 27 at the Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center, Richmond. This annual award is bestowed on a teacher based on commitment, leadership and service to Catholic education.
May has worked in Catholic education for 13 years. Though she is a part-time employee, she is fully invested in her students’ lives. In addition to teaching seventh and eighth grade history and civics, she also works with kindergarten students in the library. In her history lessons, May works to show how the present is tied to the past by analyzing and comparing current and historic events. She invites her students to examine modern culture with a Catholic lens by incorporating the lessons of Christ with her own. In addition to being a dedicated educator, she is also recognized as a role model for students because of her faith, kindness, patience and modesty.
“For me, working in the field of Catholic education is not just a job, it’s a vocation,” she said. “I choose to work in a Catholic school because I know this is exactly where the Lord is calling me to serve; this is my mission.”
Diocesan Awards for Excellence in Catholic Education were given to Angela Cash, middle school religion teacher at All Saints Catholic School, Richmond; Laura Hall, middle school science teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Richmond; and Heather Krys, seventh grade English teacher at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School, Virginia Beach.
